Airborne surveillance of water basins with hyperspectral FLS-LiDAR

Abstract

The airborne FLS ® -Lidars are based on the method of Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) and aimed at the analytical remote sensing of water objects. Scanning the laser beam across the flight trajectory and recording the comprehensive LIF spectrum with hyperspectral detector per every laser pulse provide detail maps of spectral properties of the water basins. A multi-tier model for integrated environmental assessment is applied for further analysis of this information to combine the benefits of "big-picture" capability of remote sensing techniques and GIS solutions with localized on-theground environmental data gathering.In this concept far looking satellite and airborne systems provide the highest tier information. The airborne data acquisition with FLS ® -Lidar is considered as the middle tier characterized by vast amount of LIF data with high spatial (less than 10 m) and spectral (less than 5 nm in UV/VIS spectral ranges) resolution. The lower tier is anchored with the geographical locations of important findings detected at the middle tier. Taken water samples are analyzed with fastscreening technology of Spectral Fluorescence Signatures (SFS) giving more analytical qualitative and quantitative results. And the base tier includes detail laboratory analysis of characteristic samples selected at the lower tier. Precisely geo-referenced LIF data of hyperspectral FLS-Lidar anchored to and calibrated by the ground SFS data allows detection of pollution incidents and mapping of environmental trends over vast water systems like coastal zone, lakes and rivers.

Lidar monitoring of organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary

“…Spectral deconvolution is one of the key components in fluorescence data processing. In order to analyze fluorescence spectral complexity by the overlap of various fluorophore spectra, kinds of spectral deconvolution methods were used [7][8][9]. For instance, radial basis function networks was developed by Li in 2005 to de-convolute overlap spectral components [10], and the Pearson's IV function(s) was introduced by Chekalyuk and Alexander in 2008 [11].…”